Luisa Canuto has been teaching language courses for UBC French, Hispanic and Italian Studies since 1994. In that same year, Luisa founded and then coordinated the Italian Program for UBC Continuing Studies, trained all the instructors, developed the curriculum for the program and created and led the UBC travel program in Italy. After winning the Killam Prize for excellence in teaching in 2000, she started working for the Centre for Teaching and Academic Growth (currently CTLT) as Faculty Associate and Manager, and developed educational programs for Faculty members, including Orientation events, Teaching and Learning Institutes and the Academic Leadership Development Program for new UBC Academic Leaders. She sat in the board of the Italian Cultural Centre for two years, and developed and facilitated the teachers’ training program for the Centre.

Luisa is currently full-time at the French, Hispanic and Italian Studies department with a recently acquired PhD on the topic of service learning for language acquisition, to teach and coordinate Italian language and culture courses. Her research interests include the use of educational technologies in the classroom, the impact of service learning on students’ linguistic and metacognitive development and curriculum program renewal and development.

Luisa has acquired graduate degrees in disciplines ranging from History to publishing to second language acquisition and teaching. Each degree reflects her diverse passions and learning interests — Italian and Venetian Medieval and Renaissance history, journalism and teaching and learning theories and best practices.

For 2017-18, Luisa is the Peer Review of Teaching program coordinator and is co-coordinating the UBC Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Community of Practice.

AWARDS

Killam Teaching Prize in 2000

ESEARCH INTERESTS

Second-language acquisition theory and application

Technology and Language Teaching and Learning

Community-service learning as a pedagogical tool

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

WebQuests, WebSearches and other internet-based techniques as language learning tools